Building With Vision: Optimizing and Finding Alternatives to Wood

by Dan Imhoff, forewords by Randy Hayes and Sim Van der Ryn, 2001. Watershed Media, Healdsburg, CA; 707/895-3490,

www.watershedmedia.org. Paperback, 136 pages, $22 plus shipping.

Building With Vision is a rare mix of philosophy, practical information on building materials and practices, and superb visual presentation. Following introductory thoughts by Randy Hayes of the Rainforest Action Network and green architect Sim Van der Ryn of Sausalito, California, the book concisely lays out the basic arguments for optimizing resource use in building and—in particular—finding alternatives to wasteful use of wood. The book addresses very cogently the potential conflicts between natural building on the one hand and the higher-tech, manufactured approaches reflected in recycled plastics and steel studs on the other. While the book has a strong philosophical bent—protection of forests through better use of wood products in construction and substitution of nonwood alternatives—there is a realism reflected throughout that makes the book relevant to a wide audience of residential builders and designers.

Building With Vision is actually the second installment of Watershed Media’s

Wood Reduction Trilogy, which is tailored to help designers optimize use of, and find alternatives to, wood in paper (Volume 1 –

Guide to Tree-Free, Recycled and Certified Papers), residential building (Volume 2 – this book), and packaging (Volume 3 –

Unwrapping Packaging). Watershed Media is a nonprofit communications agency and publishing house based in Northern California.

Following an introductory/context-setting section,

Building with Vision is organized into five major sections, covering wood (certified, reclaimed, and salvaged); framing, siding and sheathing options; insulated structural systems; natural building methods; and recycled materials/resource recovery. These are packed with information, well written, and well illustrated. Each section ends with several pages of useful resources, including organizations, publications, and product manufacturers.

While

Building With Vision’s subtitle might lead one to think it’s mostly about wood, the book is a very broad and surprisingly inclusive resource on all material aspects of residential building. Author Dan Imhoff and Art Director Roberto Carra have produced a real winner that should be read—and enjoyed—by all involved with residential green building. And given how useful this book is, I plan to get a copy of the first volume as soon as possible for the publishing end of our business)!

– AW